Sharanya's pov-
"Vaidehi Rajvansh ki shaadi hai?"
I practically shouted, staring at the velvet wedding invite in maa's hand like it was a Hogwarts letter
"Haan beta," Maa said, adjusting her duppata while sipping her evening chai. "Purvi jii -- tu janti hai na, Vikarm ji ki wife -- meri hostel wali dost thi. Tere papa ke bhi bahut purane doston mein hain woh log. Purvi ne khud mujhe bulaya."
"Matlab hum VIP list mein hain?" I grinned.
Before maa could answer, Saanvi, aka my bestie-slash-lifeline, poked her head from behind my closet door.
" VIP ya nhi, main toh aise ready hoke jaungi jaise dulhan ki badi behen hoon," she winked.
"Waise bhi.... Suna hai Rajvansh ke function mein food bhi royal hota hai."
I flopped onto my bed dramatically.
" I just hope i don't end up knocking over some priceless vase or tripping into the bride."
(A/n- it was way worse🤭)
Author's pov-
The Rajvansh Haveli was straight out of a royal dream.
Marigolds swayed with the wind. Silver kalirey shimmered under fairy lights. The dhol beats louder than anyone's heartbeat. The air reeked of roses, rangoli, and secrets.
It was Vaidehi Rajvansh's mehendi, and everyone who was someone was here.
Except Sharanya Shekhawat, who at the moment was balancing a tray of mehendi - coloured thandai glases while weaving through gossiping aunties like a commando dodging bullets.
" Sharuuu!"
Saanvi hissed from across the garden.
" Tujhe drinks serve krne kisne bola? Chal idhar --- teri mang mein haldi reh gai hai!"
Sharanya huffed, pressing her finger to her forehead."kya! Oh shit -- yeh toh tilak pura fail gya hai!"
She awkwardly rubbed at the spot with her duppata, barely noticing the man walking straight towards her, eyes on his phone, and aura colder than the drinks on the tray. And then it happened.
💥 CLASHHH!
She spun too fast.
He turned too late.
A full glass of greenish mehendi- thandai splashed onto an ivory- gold sherwani with surgical precision.
Time. Froze.
Sharanya blinked. Once. Twice.
Her eyes travelled up slowly... Past the expensive buttons, past furious stain... Until she met the eyes.
Kritarth's pov-
What the hell just-
She looked up.
And suddenly, the chaos around me blurred.
A pale pink lehenga. Bangles halfway up her forearm. Big, round eyes wide in horror. And that....dimple.
One. Just one. That flashed for a second like some stupid apology.
She looked... ordinary.
But why the fu*k couldn't I look away?
"Aap...yeh....thoda green ho gye ho" she said with a nervous smile.
Damm...this voice.
But wait..what?
" Excuse me?"
"Sherwani pe keh rahi hoon...aap toh pehle se dangerous the, ab environment- friendly bhi lag rahe ho".
Huh? Me? Environment friendly? Does she think me of some paper bag environment friendly? Like really?
She tried to dab the sherwani with a tissue when I came back from my thoughts.
Is she really trying to kill me? Or what?
First her look, the her voice, and now she is touching me?
What the fu*k kritarth..what are you even thinking..she is just an ordinary girl..that's it.
I grabbed her wrist. Firmly.
" Don't. Touch. me"
Being rude is better than being attracted, isn't it?
Definately it is.
I listened her muttering something like
"Thik hai, thik hai! Thoda ego fragile hai kya inka?"
Really she thinks this about me? But her voice -- chirpy, messy, irritatingly soft.
But her eyes... Brown. Warm.
With a tiny golden fleck. Left side.
Ofcourse I noticed that.
And now, i couldn't unsee her if I tried.
"Maine suna. Tum blind ho ya bas dumb?" I snapped, too harsh.
Good. Anger is safe. Attraction is not.
Sharanya's pov-
I looked up....and bam.
He stood there like some Greek god sent to ruin my self- esteem in one glare.
Cream gold sherwani. Taller than my pride. Jaw sharper than my sarcasm.
And those eyes?
Grey. cold. No mercy.
Like he could freeze my soul with one blink.
Ugh. Gorgeous but rude --- the worst combination
" Tum blind ho ya bas dumb?" He snapped.
excuse me????
Did Mr. Sherwani deluxe just insulted me?
" Sorry... Woh... Tray... Carpet..." Why the hell I am fumbling.
He stepped closer. I stepped back. My heel twisted. I stumbled.
He caught my wrist. Not gently. Just enough to stop me from falling on him again.
"Stay. Away", he said coldly.
"Wow. Rude much?"
"You've already caused enough damage."
And he walked away.
But not before turning back.
Just once.
And that?
That messed me up.
No violins. No butterflies. But something in my stomach did a tiny flip.
Traitor.
Kritarth's pov-
Mayank my assistant who was standing beside me and watching all this chaos leaned in, amused.
Mayank: "welcome back, sir. Lagta hai Udaipur ne aapka 'cool mode' mehendi mein dubo diya".
"Us ladki ka naam pata karo".
Mayank grinned and said "bas naam hi? Ya poora biodata?"
"You know what you have to do" i said and moved towards my room from there.
I changed my clothes and was sitting on couch working when mayank knocked on door.
"Come in".
"Sir here, the information you asked about that girl".
Now this is something good.
I opened the file and started reading about her
Sharanya Shekhawat This human- sized tornado got a really good name Sharanya.
A Bihari this got intresting.
Pursuing MBA.
Lives in Delhi.
I closed this file after reading all the information and signed mayak that he can go.
I leaned back and closed my eyes and guess what?
Again she.
She really got my nerves.
Ugh.
I stood up and moved out of my room to check everything is running smoothly or not.
I was standing near the balcony, glass of water in hand, eyes focused on nothing in particular.
My phone buzzed.
It was samrath. An idiot who doesn't have work other than annoying me with my brothers and sister.
Anyways..
"Back in India and you are still stuck at mingling, krit. Smile once. Your jawline won't fall off."
I smirk at his text and suddenly my eyes unknowingly drifted towards the courtyard.....
And landed on her.
Sharanya.
Dancing barefoot on the marble laughing uncomfortably as she messed up the steps, arms in the air. Lehenga swirling, and dupatta sliding off her shoulder. A misfit in his regal world.
Wild. Unfiltered. Free.
She didn't even know I was watching
And that's bothering me.
Author's pov-
Rasgulla. That was her mission.
After the green thandai disaster, she had decided to keep her head down and do her duty like a sanskari wedding guest--- until she was sent to the dessert counter
Simple task? Nope.
She found herself face-to-face with the very same guy whose sherwani she'd baptised in mehendi just two hours ago.
Still tall.
Still Scary.
Still staring.
" Mujhe toh sirf ek rasgulla chahiye tha... Universe me phir se maut ka darwaza khol diya," she Muttered, attempting to back away.
Too late.
"Running away again?" Kritarth's voice was quiet and sharp.
She froze.
Sharanya:
"No-no. I was... Just respecting your aura. It clearly doesn't like desserts or me."
Kritarth:
"You talk too much".
Sharanya:
"And you blink too little. Balance ban raha hai, nai?".
She smiled and he? You know as always stoic.
Kritarth while tilting his head:
"You're not from this world, are you?"
She blinked. And thought in her mind.
Is he trying to insult me. Try try mr. Iceberg hum bhi sharanya Shekhawat hai.
Sharanya
"What's this supposed to mean?"
Kritarth:
"Most people are smart enough to stay out of my way".
Sharanya:
"Maybe I'm not most people, mr. Glare-and-stare".
And with that, she grabbed a rasgulla and walked off, leaving kritarth with a rare expression:
Mild confusion.
She was back. In front of him. Again.
He didn't intended to speak. In fact, he had told himself a hundred times since the spill that he didn't care. That she was irrelevant.
But the second he saw her laughing near the dessert table - mouth full of something sweet, finger stained with mehendi, dupatta sliding off one shoulder - he was walking towards her like he had no control.
Like he was being pulled.
She challenge him. Mocked him. Didn't flinch when he stared her down.
No one did that. No one dared.
And yet... she existed.
Her words. Her smirk. That rasgulla escape. What the hell was that?
"Control yourself kritarth. She's just noise. Background clutter." Saying this to himself he moved away from there.
Latter that evening....
He stood on the terrace alone. People danced below. Laughed. Drank. He didn't care.
Until he spotted her again.
Sneaking away from the crowd, barefoot again, holding her heels in one hand and mumbling something about "blister se dosti".
He watched her sit on the marble bench, dip her foot into a decorative foundation like a child, and sigh like it was heaven.
Who does that? At a Rajvansh wedding? In front of the world? He thought but soon came to realisation.
She didn't care who he was.
And maybe... That's why he couldn't stop looking.
Saanvi joined her with a plate full of samosas.
Saanvi:
"Why does the scary hot sherwani guy keep looking at you like you owe him kidney money?"
Sharanya replied while nibbling a gulab jamun ---- i don't know. Maybe i remind him of unpaid taxes.
They both laughed at her comment.
But deep down, a small part of her wondered.
Because when he looked at her --- not like other boys do, with desire or intrest --- it was something else.
It felt like a question.
Or maybe... A warning.
Latter that night when function gets over and everyone was taking rest at their respective rooms.
Kritarth was returning to his room when he passed a guest room. And guess what? He listened a voice the same sweet voice.
It's hers.
She was talking to someone on phone call.
"Haan haan bhaiya, sab thik hai! Bas ek uncle- type banda hai yahan, full-on 'main hoon Rajvansh' attitude mein..."
Kritarth narrowed his eyes.
"Dekhti hun shaadi tk usko smile karwana mushkil hai ya impossible."
He turned away, lips twitching. Which was rare.
He was a man who'd built empires.
Broken men with a stare.
Owned cities.
But one girl... One soft- voiced strom... Had entered his kingdom like a joke---
And left his mind anything but calm.
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